Death Or Pig’s Heart? ‘I Wanted To Live,’ Transplant Patient Says

Good morning! It’s Wednesday, Jan. 12. If you keep track of holidays that are only declared because someone with no authority whatsoever set them aside to honor something or the other, this also happens to be, among others, Kiss a Ginger Day, Work Harder Day and, if you can believe this, Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day.

Among the serious news we’re following:

• A Maryland man is recovering after receiving a genetically modified pig heart in a historic surgery that gives hope to other terminally ill patients waiting for organ transplants.

• Bear with us while we tell the story of a story that came out about the story a boy told of a bear keeping him safe in the woods.

• Both Pfizer and Moderna are working on omicron-specific coronavirus booster shots.

• As fire investigators learn more about the fatal Bronx apartment fire Sunday, people across the city show they care.

A 57-year-old Maryland man who had been hospitalized and bedridden for months with terminal heart disease is recovering after receiving a genetically modified pig heart in a first-of-its-kind surgery.

“It was either die or do this transplant,” patient David Bentley said a day before the surgery was performed at University of Maryland Medicine. “I want to live. I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice."

The historic organ transplant demonstrated for the first time that a genetically modified animal heart can function like a human heart without immediate rejection by the body, offering hope to other people with failing organs, doctors said. » Patient 1st In U.S. To Receive Genetically Modified Pig Heart, via Baltimore Patch

The Boy And The Bear

Remember the story a few years back about the North Carolina boy who’d been lost in the woods for more than two days, but said he survived because a bear kept him safe? Several states away, William Rowan read the story and decided it was begging for a short story.

His fictional story of a mother bear and her two cubs who awaken from hibernation with the purpose of saving the boy is entertaining, but what Rowan hopes those who read the story will take away from it is more profound. » Lost Boy Claims Bear Saved Him; Short Story Imagines That’s True, via Across America Patch

Roll Up Your Sleeves Again?

Pfizer and Moderna are both developing omicron-specific booster vaccines — a move a World Health Organization technical group statement appears to endorse. The technical group, an independent team of experts who advise the WHO, said Tuesday that “vaccines me need to be updated” to provide protection against omicron and other coronavirus variants. » Omicron Vaccines In The Works: Are They Needed? via Across America Patch

There may be some good news on the horizon. Scientists are seeing signals that COVID-19's alarming omicron wave may have peaked in Britain and is about to do the same in the U.S., at which point cases may start dropping off dramatically. » Omicron May Be Headed Toward Rapid Drop In U.S., Britain, via Across America Patch

The pandemic is continuing to affect people in myriad ways, hitting consumers in places where they feel it most — their neighborhood grocery stores — as the virus and weather compound existing supply chain issues. » U.S. Shoppers Find Some Groceries Scarce Due To Virus, Weather, via Across America Patch

Bronx Fire: ‘They Care”

A self-closing door failed to shut and contain smoke from a fatal Bronx fire — and it’s not an uncommon complaint in the building, according to reports from the fire that killed 17 people, including eight children. » Closing Door Violations Plagued Bronx Fire Building, via New York City Patch

The tragedy is bringing people together behind a common cause — helping victims with temporary housing and other acts of kindness, big and small, as families prepare for funerals. Cash donations are the best way to help — though that comes with a warning, too. » ‘They Care’: NYC Steps Up Aid, Donations For Bronx Fire Victims, via New York City Patch

Photos: Georgia Claims National Title

The Georgia Bulldogs won their first national football title in 41 years; see a collection of photos, via Atlanta Patch.

Around ‘The Patch’

'I Feel Good': Georgia Woman Turns 104: Winnell Cunningham Shaw of Stone Mountain has survived two global pandemics: the first, the Spanish flu, and the second, COVID-19, via Stone Mountain-Lithonia, Georgia, Patch.

Wages Paid as 91,500 Pennies: A Peachtree City auto repair shop that paid a former worker in pennies has been cited by the U.S. Labor Department for not paying overtime, via Atlanta Patch.

James Mtume, Musician And Activist, Dies At 76: James Mtume jammed with some of the biggest names in the music business. He was also a charismatic champion for social justice, via Newark, New Jersey, Patch.

Biden Makes Voting Rights Plea: In Atlanta, the president delivered a fiery charge to Republican senators blocking the Freedom To Vote Act and the U.S. Rep. John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act from passing into law, via Atlanta Patch.

No Help In Panama Plane Crash: Two families searching for missing loved ones in Panama said the United States government "doesn't have assets to deploy" in the search, according to a joint statement, via Waukesha, Wisconsin, Patch.

Sex, Labor Human Traffickers On Prowl: Despite statewide efforts to tackle the problem, the Sunshine State remains third in the nation for human trafficking, via Tampa, Florida, Patch.

John Madden Remembered In Congress: You might have seen him on TV or sipping a Miller Lite at Dublin, California’s, Outback Steakhouse, via Pleasanton, California, Patch.

Chicago Mayor Positive For COVID-19: Lori Lightfoot said she started to experience cold-like symptoms Tuesday and will work from home in isolation, via Chicago Patch.

Abuse, Neglect Investigated Before Child’s Death: After being born into foster care, the North Chicago boy and several siblings were returned to his mother, who is charged with the boy's murder, via Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, Illinois, Patch.

Newsom Puts $10M Toward Wildlife Crossing: Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget includes $10 million for the State Route 101 freeway crossing in Agoura Hills, a major move forward, via Agoura Hills, California, Patch.

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This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch